Taking straight A high schooler out for trip?

[Saracpohl]

I know this is a continuing thread/topic on here, but I was wondering if any of you have taken your high schooler out of school for a week for a vacation, without any problems? We're thinking of going In may, when there's only a couple of weeks left in the school year. She'll be back in time for review of finals and actual finals. She's a sophomore, straight A student in honors classes. We took her out in 7th grade, without any issues.

 

[Master Yoda]

I am on my third high school student and as a general rule I would not take them out for a day or two at most. Things just move way to fast in honors and AP classes and missing an entire week could prove to be problematic.In this day an age a single A turning into a B can be the difference between full ride and student loans.

You also might run into problems at the school. Many schools do not see vacation as an excused absence and will want some kind of medical documentation for absences that extend more than a day or two. If that is the case at your daughter's school then answer would be a resounding no.

 

[lunchbox1175]

I say go for it, I have taken both of my children out of school for it. They both do very well in school, and we have never had issues with the school. We just tell them they were out due to a family matter.

 

[sheriffwoody]

Probably depends on the school, but I know in my honors classes, I wouldn't have been able to miss a week. Trying to keep up with homework would kind of put a damper on the vacation too

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I probably wouldn't in high school. Anything up to that, sure. But it wouldn't be any fun trying to keep up with schoolwork while enjoying a Disney vacation.

 

[allgiggles]

I think it depends on your school. We have 4 kids who either are attending or have attended high school. We've taken our kids out of high school for a day or two occasionally, but never for a week. Believe it or not, it was the kids who asked us not to take them out for more than a day or two at most. Our school has block scheduling and couple that with honors and AP classes and missing a day or two is more like missing a week of traditional classes/scheduling. As others have mentioned, if we took our kids out of high school for a week, they would have to be spending our vacation doing 3-4 hours of school work a day just to have any hope of keeping up with the rest of the class while we're gone. That wouldn't be a fun vacation. We just resign to the fact that while we have kids in high school, we have to take our vacations during the summer. We did take the younger kids out of elementary school for a week one year because the older kids were in college and we decided to take vacation the week the college was over in May. Even that trip was a little challenging as one son was in 5th grade and his teacher expected him to do every bit of work that the other kids were doing in class and for homework while we were gone. She handed him a 3" stack of papers the day before we left (including the science units that were "hands on" experiments that we had no way of doing at home and certainly not at Disney World.) It ended up taking him about 12 hours to complete everything (and he only missed 4 days of school) -- and he's an A student -- other than the science units that had to be made up during recess when we got back (not sure why she even sent those worksheets home). The 3rd grade teacher only had my daughter doing worksheets that were new concepts and reading the chapter book the class was working on. It took her 2 hours to complete the work (including the reading)...and it was finished before we even left on vacation because the teacher gave it to her 2 days ahead of time in case we had questions. That's when we decided that we won't take the kids out of school for an extended vacation past about 3 or 4th grade.

 

[JennSmith]

I am actually taking my daughter out for 6 days next month. I am kind of nervous about it now that the time is approaching. She is a junior and has 3 AP classes. I don't know what I was thinking. HOWEVER, I was completely honest with her school counselor and assistant principal, (they are who has to approve the absences). They actually approved the absences and had zero issues with it...so maybe it won't be so bad? I dunno...like I said, I am nervous now. My sister in law is a principal and she assured me this happens all the time for even longer periods of time but still...nervous!!

 

[JillC LI]

I have no moral problem with it - we took our kids out of school for a week at a time all the way through middle school. However, they are both in high school now, and despite being excellent students, it would be very difficult for them to stay abreast of the new work if we took them out of high school classes for more than 2 or 3 days. Really, it's up to you.

 

[JennSmith]

it would be very difficult for them to stay abreast of the new work

This is my problem. If I let myself think too hard about it, I start to get sick to my stomach a little. I don't know what I was thinking

 

[JillC LI]

This is my problem. If I let myself think too hard about it, I start to get sick to my stomach a little. I don't know what I was thinking

Just noticed the end of May timing too. That means that she will miss the teaching of the final topics of the year in all her classes. Plus, and I don't know if this applies to your daughter or not, my DS would never be willing to miss the end of Spring Varsity sports season. Can you go over Memorial Day weekend and just tag on 2 extra days of missed school perhaps?

 

[JennSmith]

Can you go over Memorial Day weekend and just tag on 2 extra days of missed school perhaps?

Doubtful at this point...

 

[DarthVader]

Last year, I took my two girls out of 3rd grade for a week at Disney, they had a wonderful time, but boy did they struggle coming back. I understand grade school is a lot different then high school, but I think the concept is the same. Its hard to make up learning. The kids are trying to learn what they missed at a time when the teacher is trying to move the rest of the class forward with more material.

Its not like when we return to work after a week, i.e., takes time to go through our emails, and paperwork. The kids are leanring new things and if they're not there to learn, its going to be hard for them..

I'm willing to pull them out two days, but that's it, anything further really sets them back

 

[Disney4family]

I teach at a high school. For my "kids", the month of May is filled with AP review and exams. The kids have a hard time staying on top of their work when they miss classes for the review and exams. I couldn't imagine having a vacation on top of it.

As a mom, I would worry about the extra stress your daughter would have while on vacation. I would think it would always be in the back of her mind. Of course, each child is different, each family situation is different and you know her best.

 

[DisneyGigi]

We have taken both of our children out for 5 days of school for Disney trips. They were freshman and sophmores at the time with all AP classes. I was honest with the school about why we were taking them out and all the teachers were really great about giving them work that they could do while we were gone to stay caught up. Never had a problem and their grades were not affected at all. We always took them at the beginning of the school year so that helped too.

 

[JennSmith]

We have taken both of our children out for 5 days of school for Disney trips. They were freshman and sophmores at the time with all AP classes. I was honest with the school about why we were taking them out and all the teachers were really great about giving them work that they could do while we were gone to stay caught up. Never had a problem and their grades were not affected at all. We always took them at the beginning of the school year so that helped too.

This makes me feel better. I was REALLY starting to feel sick to my stomach for a bit.

 

[JIMINYCR]

We took DS out of school during his earlier years with no problem, he also was an honors student, had no problem with the catch up assignments. But when he reached the HS years we decided not to take him out. During those years he got hit with so much work he never would have managed to catch up. We felt those years were much more critical to keep him focused and not struggle to stay at top level and with college in the future, we didnt want a Disney trip to foul up his grades. Guess it all depends on the level of courses yours has and how much work will be done during the time away. DS never would have managed with his work load.

 

[Kate Alan]

Myself and my two siblings were taken out yearly (sometimes more than once a year, now that I think about it) from the time we were young to the time we graduated high school (my father's work required my mother's presence at conventions and it was both at times necessary to bring us and also considered far more of an education than school depending on the location). I was in all AP and honors courses throughout high school, and never once did I run into an issue with keeping up with the work load. We usually were able to obtain our homework or readings prior to leaving and would complete it either on the plane there/back or have a designated time in the hotel room scheduled around the vacation activities if necessary. Most teachers are not going to want to be punitive towards a student just because their parents have decided to take a trip during the school year.

I think the only time anything was ever really affected for me was in middle school - our trip to Hawaii coincided with the dissection unit in biology. I spoke to the teacher, who was initially less than understanding - but my parents were certainly not going to leave me home alone while they were away, and I argued the point that I would have abstained from dissecting anyway as it was against my moral beliefs. I ended up having to write a paper, which satisfied both of us.

 

[Tinkerkelle]

As a high school teacher in the UK, I find that students who take time out of school for holidays are fine as long as they inform the teacher of their intended absence, discuss what will be going on when they're away and reach agreement on the work expected on return to school; limit time off to a week maximum and actively work to catch/keep up with what was missed. As the previous poster said, teachers don't want to punish students who are off school for any reason - holidays, sickness, etc - and most will offer support with homework tasks, notes and so on. It's not ideal to take older kids out of school but sometimes cost, parental leave and so on means it's the only way for a family to holiday together and the benefits of spending quality time as a family and exploring a different part of the world are not to be underestimated.

 

[Disvillain63]

If she is taking AP classes, you really need to checking the testing schedule. It's done the same day, same time nationally...by subject. Since many southern schools are out by May 20th, that would mean the tests would be before that date.

 

[stevehousse]

I know this is a continuing thread/topic on here, but I was wondering if any of you have taken your high schooler out of school for a week for a vacation, without any problems? We're thinking of going In may, when there's only a couple of weeks left in the school year. She'll be back in time for review of finals and actual finals. She's a sophomore, straight A student in honors classes. We took her out in 7th grade, without any issues.

We just took my sister same age/grade and she is a straight A student as well and we went in May. It had no negative affect on her work at all. She was able to get all her assignments up front and she finished before we even went on vacation! They shouldn't have a problem at all! Plus with it being at the end of the school year, it's mostly review for finals. If she thinks she will be ok, then go for it! May is a great time at wdw!